Records created and used by the British Electric Telegraph Company

This material is held atBT Group Archives

Scope and Content

The only surviving record for the BETC is a single bound volume containing legal opinion on the interpretation of the word 'town' in the Companies Act dated 27 September 1853. Includes details of lengths and numbers of wires belonging to the company.

Administrative / Biographical History

The British Electric Telegraph Company was formed by Act of Parliament in 1850. It was intended to rival to the monopoly of the Electric Telegraph Company, using the patents of Edward Highton. In 1854 it merged with the European and American Electric Printing Telegraph Company to form the British Telegraph Company.

Access Information

Available for research at BT Group Archives, see www.bt.com/archives.

Acquisition Information

These records were transferred to BT Group Archives from the Post Office Archives between 1 June 1991 and 30 April 1992.

Other Finding Aids

Full catalogues for BT Group Archives can be searched at www.bt.com/archivesonline.

Archivist's Note

These records were previously catalogued as part of the Post Office collection under the POST 81 and POST 82 classes. They have been recatalogued to better reflect the provenance of these records and to aid access to them.